Information registering system

ABSTRACT

There is an information registration apparatus for registering patrons entering a club or other commercial use. The apparatus comprises a housing ( 1 ) with a top panel ( 3 ) and sign-in window ( 4 ). A form ( 14 A) is displayed in the window ( 4 ) for handwritten entry of information by a patron. The information is then photographed from the underside by means of a camera ( 9 ) and image reversing reflective mirror ( 10 ) and stored or transmitted to a viewing station.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to information recording and processingequipment. More particularly, although not exclusively it discloses animproved apparatus for registering patrons entering a club or collectingand processing information entered by customers of commercialestablishments.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Current laws relating to licenced clubs require that the identities andaddresses of members and visitors entering the premises be recorded.Such information must be kept by the clubs for a number of years. Atpresent clubs use books of pre-printed forms on carbonless sheets or NRCpaper. Each patron upon entering has to fill out a form which is thentorn off and kept as proof of temporary membership. The duplicateremaining in the book becomes the club's record of the visit. Such bookshowever are expensive and bulky to store. Further, there is no way formanagement to easily process or analyse the records to obtain marketinginformation on for example the frequency that certain persons use theclub or the geographic areas most served by the club. While paperlessregistration systems have been proposed which to some extent address theabove problems using such apparatus is often difficult and daunting forelderly persons.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of this invention to ameliorate theaforementioned disadvantages and accordingly a registration apparatusfor club or retail use is disclosed. said apparatus including a consolewith a window aperture for display of a pre-printed form for handwrittencompletion by a customer, means for obtaining information off theunderside of said form, and means for paperless storage and/ortransmission of said handwritten information to viewing stations.

Preferably said written information is stored on hard disk with an inhouse sequential number linked to the patron's issued entry docket.

It is further preferred that said written information be displayed on aremote monitor and/or a monitor at the back of said console for viewingby club personnel.

It is further preferred that said form or a copy thereof be returned tosaid customer after photographing original handwritten details by thecamera capture unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The currently preferred embodiment of this invention will now bedescribed with reference to the attached representations in which:

FIG. 1 shows a front perspective view of a club registry apparatusaccording to this concept,

FIG. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view along the lines A—A ofFIG. 1,

FIGS. 3 and 3A show the currently preferred form of sign-in docket foruse with the apparatus of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 4 shows the operational flow chart of the apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring first to FIG. 1 the apparatus housing 1 may be generallybox-like in shape with a base 2 and a sloping top panel 3 for ease ofwriting. A rectangular window 4 is located in the top panel of thedevice which displays pre-printed sign-in dockets to be manually filledin by patrons entering the club premises. Also shown in FIG. 1 are adocket present slot 5, data entry button 6 and locks 7.

Referring now to the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 the main internalhardware components preferably include a roll 8 of pre-printed entrydockets, camera 9, reflective mirror 10, docket presenter unit 11, lightor tone. acknowledgement emitter 12, connector interface board 13 andsupport frame 14.

The frame 14 forms a path for a continuous strip 14A of blankpre-printed entry dockets drawn from the roll 8. This strip extends upfrom the roll, along the inside of the top panel 3, across the outsideof the window 4 and into the presenter unit 11.

A non-limiting example of an entry docket is shown in FIGS. 3 and 3A. Itmay comprise areas for the handwritten entry of a patron's name 15,address 16, temporary or permanent member's badge number 17 and 18 andsignature 19. A space 20 directly below may be reserved for advertisingmaterial. The reverse side of the docket as shown in FIG. 3A may includean area 21 for the club rules, age declaration and conditions of entry.A date, time, docket number and bar code may also be entered at the base21A of the docket. With the current embodiment the dockets arepreferably of thermal paper for reasons of economy and printing speed.As mentioned earlier the dockets are initially joined end-to-end and areloaded into the machine in the form of a continuous source roll 8.

A microprocessor is preferably located in the base of the apparatus. Asan alternative to local control via a keypad 22 this microprocessor asshown in FIG. 4 operates the general mechanics of the apparatus throughthe controller board 23. There is also an intel PC processor board whichpreferably manages the dataflow of the camera capture unit 25 and storesthe electronic data on its hard drive 26 for convenient access by clubmanagement. It is also currently preferred that a DiskOnChip harddrivebe used to house the operating system and the general software inaddition to the storage hard drive. The remaining hardware items shownin FIG. 4 are identified as follows:

27—Monitor for reports to management and viewing of sign-in tickets

28—LCD display located prefereably on or adjacent machine for providinginstructions to patrons

6—Visitor/Member button

30—Mechanical Roller and Ticket Presenter Unit

It is further preferred that the general software for the apparatus useVisual Basic and the API's associated with all other devices. Thisprovides the front end management of the data and facilitatesmanipulation of databases (particularly MS ACCESS) to give the option ofdeveloping Microsoft compatible management systems for larger clubs.

The currently preferred system architecture is PC driven using softwareon the PC which governs all system timing, communication, control.data/image acquisition and management; a single PC can control severalpresenter units; standard issue control boards come with theprinter/presenter mechanism for low level control of printing and paperhandling functions.

In use the apparatus is placed in the entry foyer of the club and apatron entering is instructed by an attendant or displayed information(e.g. the aforementioned LCD display 28) to fill in the requiredinformation on the sign-in docket appearing in the console window 4.After providing ID to substantiate the information entered the patronthen pushes the visitor/member and data entry buttons. This firstactivates the image capture unit of the apparatus and then the docketpresenter unit 11. The image capture unit preferably comprises aminiature single board camera 9 such as that manufactured by X Pose CCDJaycar of Sydney NSW under model No. QC3462. The preferred arrangementfor the camera is shown in FIG. 2. The handwritten information enteredby the patron is photographed through the underside of the docket andglass window 4 using an image reversing reflective mirror 10. This imageis then preferably sent to the aforementioned monitor 27 to be viewedand verified by club personnel as per legal requirements. Preferably abit map digitised image is simultaneously stored on a Pentium computerincluded in the apparatus and backed up by an in house computer.Preferably the device also uses an optional character reader in thesoftware to link the docket image to a pre-printed sequential number onsaid docket. The stored digitised image comprises the club's record ofthe patron's visit.

After the image capture is completed exit/feed rollers in the docketpresenter unit 11 draw the completed docket through into said unit andthe next blank docket in the strip 14A appears at the window 4 for asubsequent patron to fill in. A guillotine in the presenter unit 11 thensevers the completed docket and presents it to the patron at the exitslot 5 to enable entry into the club. Preferably the completed docket isonly left in the slot for a limited period of say 5 to 15 seconds afterwhich, if not removed, it is withdrawn back into the apparatus forstorage. With the current embodiment the presenter unit 11 is purchasedfrom Star Micronics Pty. Ltd. of Wetherill Park New South Wales undermodel No. TUP 492. Other types of presenter units however may be usedwithin the scope of this invention.

Although with the current embodiment the entry dockets are pre-printedthe device is preferably capable of housing an internal printer forindividual club requirements or other applications such as retailadvertising.

It is envisaged that the device may also be used as a shopping centrepromotional unit. In this case the camera capture unit would read acustomers name, address and other handwritten marketing information fromunder the sign-in window 4. The software used with this application ispreferably adapted to do the following:

link name, address and signature of customer to a pre-printed docketnumber,

store a customer's name and address separately,

store promotional information such as times the customer is in theshopping centre and postcode location for mail advertising, and

link stored docket number to a promotional prize pool which may beadministered by centre management.

Preferably the prize dockets as well as other bonus coupons can beprepared by the aforementioned internal thermal printer. No pre-printingis required as the printer produces all details including terms andconditions. The original completed and signed docket can also bedeposited into a bin for major promotional prises.

In accordance with yet a further embodiment of the invention the devicemay be used as a self serve credit application unit. A roll ofpre-printed application forms would be installed in the unit. Thecustomer would fill in the required details on the exposed form in thewindow 4. On completion of the form the data entry button 6 is pushed bythe customer and the details captured by the camera are sent bydedicated lines to the credit supplier. The original form is returned tothe customer with a sequential number pre-printed on the form and a tollfree telephone number which the customer can ring to enquire if approvalfor credit has been obtained.

The advantages provided by such credit application system include thefollowing:

the customer is not required to give personal details to thesalesperson,

the salesperson is not taken off the floor for non-sales duties,

the customer can obtain credit approval before selecting goods,

any refusal of credit is kept confidential between the credit supplierand customer, and

reduced credit can be offered confidentially to an applicant if creditlevel sought is not approved.

It will thus be appreciated that this invention at least in the form ofthe examples disclosed provides a novel and improved registry andhandwritten data entry system for clubs, retail outlets and creditsuppliers. Clearly however the embodiments described are only thecurrently preferred forms of this invention and a wide variety ofmodifications may be made which would be apparent to a person skilled inthe art. For example the shape, configuration and layout of the consolemay be changed according to design preference. The invention is also notlimited to the printer mechanism, hardware and software referred to inthe description as these may be changed as required by differentinstallations.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information registration apparatus for club orother commercial use, said apparatus including means for display of aform for the entry of said information on a front side thereof by auser, means for capturing said information from the back side of saidform and means for storage and/or transmission of said information to aviewing station.
 2. The information registration apparatus as claimed inclaim 1 wherein said means for capturing information includes a cameraand a image reversing mirror located at the back side of said form. 3.The information registration apparatus as claimed in claim 2 whereinduring the photographing operation a bit map digitised image of saidinformation is stored on a Pentium computer.
 4. The informationregistration apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein said apparatusfurther includes a software character reader to link said information toa pre-printed sequential number on said form.
 5. The informationregistration apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said form or a copythereof is returned to said user after said information is photographed.6. The information registration apparatus as claimed in claim 5 whereinsaid apparatus further includes a housing with a console and said meansfor display includes a window aperture in said console.
 7. Theinformation registration apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein saidform is one of a plurality of identical forms connected end-to-end in asource roll located in said apparatus and said apparatus furtherincludes a presenter unit which draws forms from said roll across saidwindow aperture and into said presenter unit after said entry ofinformation thereon.
 8. The information registration apparatus asclaimed in claim 7 wherein said presenter includes a guillotine forsevering said form and means to subsequently present said form back tothe user.
 9. The information registration apparatus as claimed in claim8 wherein said form is presented to the user for a limited time beforebeing withdrawn back into said apparatus.
 10. The informationregistration apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein a microprocessor inthe base thereof operates the mechanics of said apparatus through acontroller board.
 11. The information registration apparatus as claimedin claim 10 wherein said apparatus includes a processor board to managethe data flow of said captured information.
 12. The informationregistration apparatus as claimed in claim 11 wherein said form isprinted on thermal or plain paper and includes space for advertisements.13. The information registration apparatus as claimed in claim 12wherein said apparatus includes an internal thermal or dot matrixprinter for printing advertisements or other material onto said formprior to presentation back to the user.
 14. The information registrationapparatus as claimed in claim 13 wherein said apparatus is adapted forpromotional use in a shopping centre.
 15. The information registrationapparatus as claimed in claim 13 wherein said apparatus is adapted forself service credit application and wherein after entry of personalcredit information on said form said information is captured andtransmitted to a credit supplier.